


The Heavy Weight Of Living

by Lothiriel84



Series: Weight Of Living [2]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Asperger Syndrome, Friendship, Gen, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-14
Updated: 2014-04-14
Packaged: 2018-01-19 10:19:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1465765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin simply ignored the half-hearted quip and shook his head. "Douglas, please. I let you help me. Why can't you do the same?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heavy Weight Of Living

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ariane_DeVere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariane_DeVere/gifts).



> A sequel to _Albatross, Let It Go_. The title is a reference to the song _Weight of Living_ by Bastille.

Douglas had not been his usual smooth-talking self over the last couple of flights, and Martin was desperate to find out the reason to it. His own distinct lack of natural ability in the empathy department didn’t help; however, his psychologist had repeatedly encouraged him to try and overcome his feelings of inadequacy when it came to social interaction, and he had to do it for his friend’s sake.

That was why he forced himself to initiate eye contact as soon as Douglas stepped into the flight deck in the morning, no matter how much the act still flustered him.

His first officer seemed to notice, because he let out a sigh and attempted a weak smile. “I’m fine, Martin. No need to worry.”

“No, you’re not. Even I can tell as much.”

“I take it that Arthur has successfully talked you into attending that course in Ipswich?”

Martin simply ignored the half-hearted quip and shook his head. “Douglas, please. I let you help me. Why can’t you do the same?”

Something softened in the other’s expression. “Fair enough. I suppose I had it coming.”

They put the matter aside for the time needed to get GERTI in the air. When Arthur had finally retreated to the galley after bringing them coffee, Martin took a deep breath and made eye contact once more.

“So?” he prompted gently, waiting for Douglas to fill in the blank.

“My divorce from Helena has been finalized last week. And I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time arguing with a bottle of Talisker ever since.”

A sinking feeling took hold of Martin’s stomach. “Oh, Douglas.”

“I didn’t actually touch the stuff. Just talked to it, as one would do with an old friend.”

“You should have told me.”

His friend raised his eyebrow in disagreement. “I’m not particularly keen on admitting my failures, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Martin started fiddling with the sleeve of his uniform, a gesture he always found strangely soothing whenever he was pressuring himself to do something that didn’t come natural to him. “You know why I named my company Icarus Removals?”

That got Douglas’ attention. “I honestly have no idea.”

“You have to take risks in order to make your dreams come true. And even if you fail, at least you know you’ve tried.”

A genuine smirk played across the first officer’s face. “Sir could have fooled me.”

“Of course there are rules to follow,” Martin huffed in frustration. “You can’t just fly too close to the sun, otherwise there will be consequences.”

“He still died doing what he loved. I guess that counts as something.”

They both chuckled, couldn’t help it. Douglas rested his hand briefly on his captain’s arm, then shot him a challenging smirk.

“Does the supreme commander fancy a round of The Travelling Lemon?”

Martin nodded in agreement and finally relaxed against his seat. He was too glad to have the old Douglas back to question his choice of game; it could be fun after all.


End file.
